Help - what else haven't we thought about...
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Sid
The first hurdle is the make and size of the van conversion, we recently moved from a coach built MH to an Adria 6.4 twin, it has a large garage beneath the single beds and will take all our stuff but we do try to travel as light as possible. plus no worries about leaks, fits down narrow lanes, can be used to collect stuff from DIY stores and flat pack furniture, works as a 2nd vehicle and no waving to other MH drivers you meet going the other way.
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Earlier this week I posted details of a firm in North Yorkshire who are hiring motorhomes during November and December for just £50 per day. This would give you chance to hire for a couple of days and try it out............. and find any other bits and pieces that you think are necessary. They have a variety of makes and models - many more than are shown on their website. I think my post was removed because it was considered advertising, but was actually only a genuine recommendation.
Each motorhome comes with the following included in the £50 per day:Fully comprehensive insurance
Breakdown cover
Unlimited Mileage
Two drivers
(aged 25 – 75 with full UK/EU licence for 2 years or more, not more than 2 x 3 point convictions and one no-fault claim per driver in the last 3 years – additional premium or security deposit/excess may be payable for exceptions)
Temporary membership of the a Club
Bike rack (mountain bikes & bike lock available as an optional extra)
Dual-fuel central heating system (operates on either electric hook-up or gas)
Digital LCD TV/DVD/CD player with Freeview
Fully equipped kitchen including all crockery, utensils and cooking equipment
Dual-fuel fridge with freezer compartment
Gas cooker with grill and hob
Bathroom with hot and cold running water and shower
Water flushing cassette toilet with toilet chemical
Wardrobe
Pair of levelling ramps
Fire extinguisher
Mains hook-up lead
Fresh water fill-up hose
Full propane gas cylinder
Full induction
Telephone support
CCTV, Alarmed, controlled secure parking for your own car while you are away (At own risk)There is a returnable deposit (inevitably)!
Email me at valdaathome@gmail.com for details if you're interested.
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We went through this “conversion” process and ended up selling quite a bit of the extra equipment we bought e.g. picnic table, water carrier. It is refreshing to downsize and get rid of the stuff which we used to cart around in the caravan and didn’t need. One thing we did buy was a couple of Quest picnic chairs. We transport these by securing them to the back of the driver and passenger seats with bungee straps. This means that you cannot swivel the seats but we don’t do that anyway. Works for us but you need to find what works for you.
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Well, in case anyone is still interested, all your comments have helped us make up our minds. And the answer is ... we've ordered a Wildax Constellation, due for delivery next spring, but that is just according to legend! We won't hold our breath.
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I'm sure you will love it. We are still settling in to our Autotrail V line 635SE having changed from a caravan. Loving it so far and still learning from every trip. Happy travels.
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I have found this thread very enlightening, we have just moved back to a caravan after 6 years with a 6.6m Coachbuild MH.
We know in the future we will more than likely move to a PVC (not yet) lots of research into which one to be done.
Interesting to hear PVC users explain where they store all the items they take.
Tinny, not sure what I would do if I could only take 2 weeks worth of clothes on a 3 month trip
where would the washing machine go Seriously though we used to travel with the chairs on the floor of the van at the back end, the ramps went just inside the hab door along with the EHU cable. The bikes on the rear carrier, we had a PWS towbar so the groundsheet was rolled up and placed behind it and held in place with bunges. We didn't have any outside lockers and under the rear seats/beds had a lot of equipment (like BB said) so the majority of stuff had to go in the overhead lockers. The saving grace was the nice big cupboard between the cooker and fridge. The Silver screens went in the shower along with 2 folding buckets and various other bits and pieces.
When we first bought it I thought there was noway we would get everything in, then we moved back to a caravan with loads of cupboards and space but no payload to speak of, so yet again the cry of where are we going to put everything. Its amazing what you get used to doing without
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“Tinny, not sure what I would do if I could only take 2 weeks worth of clothes on a 3 month trip laughing where would the washing machine go”
I’m afraid you’ll have to revert to a washtub and mangle, TG,
It surprises me just how much clothes those o/h lockers held thanks to the diy shelves. I reckon it was a generous 2 weeks worth of clothes we packed. Probably 16-18 days worth.
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Most campsites have sinks for washing clothes and many have washing machines so what is the problem on a 3 months long trip?
Perhaps you were making a little joke! Having said that we did once meet a caravanning couple who were on a two week trip with a twin axle caravan, full length and width awning, full size domestic fridge and 3 different sets of easy chairs amongst other "essentials".
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A little joke, yes
However, we do have a travel twintub that we take on longer trips.
Have done handwash many times, that's not the issue, its the wringing them to get water out. If hand done it can ruin some clothes. Site washing machines are not always the cleanest, and do vary in cost from 4€ to 6€ a wash so can be expensive. The machine paid for itself in 1 trip.
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That overcab storage area would be sorely missed by me.
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Agree, much more useful to have locker space. In our MH we had 4 lockers over head in the cab. In their wisdom Bailey removed on the next and current models with a sunroof. Loss of storage and nothing but trouble with leaking and noise. Why mess around when something works fine.
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I'm 6 feet 3 inches tall and have an Auto-Sleepers Symbol with the extra high roof. The area above the cab has a good sized locker and there is loads of headroom when sitting in the front of the van. OK one has to remember to duck when walking through to the back but that's not a problem.
So many of us seem to appreciate the over-cab storage space in these vans. I've also heard that with the over-cab sunroofs there can be problems with the cab area becoming very hot if the sun is shining through the sunroof.
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"…some lesser vans…"
Have you not heard, BB, less is more.
We seriously considered the La Strada despite its mind numbing price tag but even the lure of the Sprinter base vehicle couldn’t make up for what we considered to be an awful layout. Give me the rear lounge any day. There you go, horses for courses.
We've started hearing of caravans suffering leaks around those panorama roof lights and that makes me doubt the wisdom of them. Also, any body modification such as removing the original roof is introducing a weak spot. That maybe why AT stopped putting plastic roofs on their V-Lines.
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I prefer the rear lounge layout over the fixed bed continental type. The idea of spending hours in the cab driving then having to spend the rest of our time sitting there to, while over half the van is taken up by a bed just doesn't appeal. As you say tinny, horses for courses.
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The big garage is always an attraction for one's "stuff" though.
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We have the Autotrail V- line 600, with the front lounge, this has the Skyview roof similar to the previous pictures. Never have a problem with overheating, or leaking, it opens to let fresh air in, and has a flyscreen and blackout blind (made by Remis).Our outdoor chairs are stored in a purpose built 'pocket' mounted on the rear door, we have lots of storage drawers in the double floor, and a hightop fibreglass roof, we manage very well. We had a Savannah before with twin rear beds and a garage....i found i had to leave very little of our garage kit behind, such is the innovation of the storage. Our model is not made now, they are all rear lounge models....so we are not changing.
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One of the issues I have with the garage version (I have several) is that the inside of the van has very little storage so everything goes in the garage (it would seem) this means you are in and out of the garage all the time (I've seen and heard them) now while in warmer climes this is not a problem (other than annoying your neighbours) but in our rather wet, miserable and windy weather it would be a pain in the ........
It would however solve one problem, the OH wouldn't need to keep asking where did I put ........
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Good decision on the Wildax. We took delivery of a Solaris XL in July and you will not be disappointed. This is our fifth van in 8 years, 3 coachbuilt and 2 PVC mostly new. Our last PVC was a Swift Autocruise Forte which was great but had host of issues over nearly 3 years, very usable as 4 berth, but nightmare on customer care. The Wildax has done just under 5K and been great, other than initial issues with dealer fitting wrong extras, no probs and the thoughtful design and finish is superb. Contacted Wildax about couple of issues on equipment usage and they were back to me within 24 hours. With swift you were lucky if you got any result.. Enjoy your new van.
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BB, just found this thread again so apologies for not responding. Your mh sounds as if it does have good storage inside, however we don't have any dealers up here for us to take a look at your model. The makes we have seen have had very little inside storage so have not been tempted by them.
However now that we have gone back to a caravan its no longer an issue.
ps, where do you put the food
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